WA State Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises

Our mission is to optimize and ensure equity and opportunity for small businesses owned by minorities, women, and the disadvantaged through education, certification, and outreach. We believe that the inclusion of small businesses owned by minorities and women in state contracting and procurement encourages competition, efficiency and creates jobs. OMWBE provides an online directory of certified minority, women, and disadvantaged small businesses for increased visibility to government buyers; provides no-cost workshops to assist businesses in identifying opportunities and building capacity.
OMWBE has three divisions working together to accomplish our goals:

Certification drives the cycle by certifying small businesses that are owned and controlled by persons who are minorities, women or persons who are socially and economically disadvantaged.

Supplier Diversity: OMWBE works with state agencies to develop processes that encourage the use of certified firms in public and educational institution contracting and procurement.

Economic Development completes the cycle by offering small business training and reduced interest rates through the Linked Deposit Program.